Despite heroic efforts by the organizing committee to truck in snow and repair a race course that melted overnight, nobody seemed happy to race in Oberhof, Germany, today. Skiing was treacherous, shooting unfair - even race winner Martin Fourcade suggested the IBU rethink its schedule.
Another windy day in Oberhof, Germany, for the IBU World Cup 7.5-kilometer women’s sprint race caused some of the big names to make huge errors on the range and created room for new faces on the podium.
There was wind. There was fog. There were crashes. In a normal World Cup relay, 12 spare rounds and a penalty loop would place a team far back indeed. But in Oberhof, Germany, today, it represented excellence - and Russia claimed their third-straight men's relay victory.
It was a warm one in Oberhof, Germany, on Wednesday, but the Czech Republic women remained consistent, both with their skiing and shooting, in the 4 x 6 k relay to win by nearly 9 seconds over France. Belarus rebounded from 10th to third, and the Canadians were lapped on the final loop.
With the second weekend of NorAm racing taking place Friday and Saturday at Sovereign Lake, here's a look at who could be some of the top contenders on a regular basis throughout the season, and who could potentially earn race starts in Europe.